Sometimes in racing, fact can be stranger than fiction.
As the saying goes, you could not even make this stuff up.
Pacing-bred 9yr-old Xmas Joyella has opened the fixed-odds favourite as she shoots for three consecutive wins in Forbury Park’s feature trot, tonight.
The accomplishment from the daughter of unheralded pacing sire Red River Hanover would not just come at an unlikely stage of her career, but of her driver’s career, too. Temuka junior driver Mikayla Lewis is aiming for her fourth career win tonight at a stage when most young drivers are desperately searching for their first win.
The 17-year-old has made a flying start in the sulky with three wins and three placings to her name from just 13 drives.
Those results have come as somewhat of a surprise to Lewis, but have also served as a glowing endorsement for her choice of career.
The driver puts Xmas Joyella’s recent form down to the horse enjoying Brent White’s Temuka stable after six seasons with her former trainer, Fred Morris.
"She has been going well and doing the job."
"She had been with Fred forever, so I guess just a change of scenery and a change of work has helped her.’’In her recent victories at Ascot Park and Motukarara, the trotter had settled off the speed, but Lewis would be happy to employ front-running tactics from her handy barrier if the horse began well, she said.
"We are off the front and drawn 2 so hopefully she can step well."
"She would probably be ideal in front, really. She does not have a lot of speed compared to other horses so bowling along in front would probably suit her."
Xmas Joyella has the advantage of meeting one of her main rivals, Eagle Galleon, on level marks after beating him two starts ago. Eagle Galleon then went on to win his next start at Wyndham for trainer Robert Wilson. Lewis also drives Missie Castleton in race 2 for Brent White and Highview Illusion for Bruce Graham in race 4.
Missie Castleton made a meal of the standing start in her resuming run at Orari, but would be competitive if she was able to trot cleanly, Lewis said.
Highview Illusion would need luck from his outside of the front line barrier draw. Up-and-coming pacer Simply Dreaming heads the line-up for tonight’s feature pacing race.
The Tony Stratford-trained gelding will need to be on his game when taking on an even field of much more experienced horses in his first start as a 3yr-old. He impressed in running third and winning in two starts as a 2yr-old before being put aside. Simply Dreaming has tuned up for tonight’s assignment by winning a 2400m Wyndham workout in a moderate 3.05.8 time.
